You have truly caused me great suffering!

After returning to his residence, Liu Jizu remained calm and secretly checked the accounts.

On the third day, he used the excuse of celebrating his youngest daughter's birthday to gather the whole family in the inner courtyard.

Soon, a group of people rushed in from outside and protected them.

Another cloud of dust rose, and the sound of hooves thundered as they galloped toward them.

Inside the house, his family members were still unaware of what was going on when they saw Liu Jizu sitting there with a solemn expression, showing no joy whatsoever.

At this moment, Liu Jizu's heart was pounding wildly.

He knew of Liang Shicheng's power and influence; Liu Jizu had come to the capital to offer his congratulations on Liang Shicheng's birthday last year.

He could only catch a glimpse of it from afar; so many powerful officials in the court were bowing and scraping to Liang Shicheng, doing everything they could to flatter him.

He has now betrayed him.
Although Liu Jizu was certain that this was a profitable deal, he couldn't help but feel a little scared when the time came.

The sound from the distant stage was very loud and should have drowned out the noise outside.

Liu Jizu, however, always felt as if he heard the sound of a white knife piercing flesh, a chilling sound.

I wonder if the general has any men who specialize in this kind of thing; I'm just afraid they might not do it cleanly.
After receiving such a generous gift, will the commander value him or discard him?

He felt a pang of anxiety, as if he had made the decision too soon. But upon reflection, he realized that the longer he delayed, the less valuable it would become.

Normally, Liu Jizu is considered decisive and has a lot of guts, but at this moment he is feeling uneasy and anxious.

The matter was simply too big, and the person he had betrayed wielded too much power.

At this moment, Liu Caiwei, the youngest daughter who was sitting nearby, brought over a cup of tea with a smile.

Today, her father specially held a coming-of-age ceremony for her and invited all the family members to attend, no matter what the occasion was. This shows how much he values ​​and loves her.

She was overjoyed.

Liu Jizu, who was deep in thought, heard the voice, looked up and saw that it was his daughter. He took the tea and took a sip.

Suddenly, he looked at his daughter, perhaps because he didn't stay in the inner quarters often, or perhaps because he hadn't paid much attention.

My daughter has grown into a very beautiful young woman.

His eyes flickered, and he smiled, "Wei'er has grown up; it's time to think about marriage. Is there a man you like?"

Liu Caiwei's face flushed red instantly, but she lowered her head and said softly, "In such matters, I obey my parents' orders. How could I, as their daughter, say anything?"

"Good, good! Wei'er is indeed filial. Your father has planned a way out for you. Now it depends on whether you have the fortune to do so."

Liu Caiwei was stunned and somewhat lost in thought. What was her father saying?

Wasn't it supposed to be about marriage? How did it become a way out?

Guangyuantang is naturally reliable in its work.

Soon, Liang Shicheng's men were all purged, and Chen Shao officially accepted Liang Shicheng's great gift.

Moreover, they are very professional, and the caravan's penetration into Hedong is now very successful.

If Liu Jizu and his men had surrendered any later, they might have been completely wiped out.

As for the concern about Liang Shicheng's retaliation?
That is even more nonsense.

Chen Shao has repeatedly stated that the court must execute these scoundrels, Liang Shicheng and Tong Guan.

Liang Shicheng's immense power was based on the fact that the Song Dynasty still held absolute authority and could still exert influence over local areas.

Now they are in Bianliang, like a flock of grasshoppers in autumn.

It's not that they want to punish Chen Shao.

It was Chen Shao who wanted their lives.

Especially after Zhao Ji abdicated, his close ministers and favorites suddenly became the target of public criticism.

Because they are just too rich.

Without the support of power, they instantly went from being perpetrators to easy prey in the eyes of others.
-
A large army was traveling through the Mingshui River Valley.

Due to the recent drought and lack of rain, dust and smoke rose in the riverbed, and the sounds of people shouting and horses neighing echoed through the valley.

Several people stood on the mountaintop, watching the five thousand cavalrymen spread out in a long formation, waving countless fluttering flags, pointing to the Jurchen military camp that was arranged in the east, taking advantage of the terrain!
Such a large cavalry force was rare in the entire Song Dynasty. It was composed of foreign cavalry from the Fuyan Road, numbering as many as five thousand.

This was almost the entirety of the cavalry force that the Fuyan army possessed.

With over ten thousand cavalrymen, their numbers stretched across the land and reached the sky, making the five thousand cavalrymen a truly magnificent sight.

Liu Guangshi pulled out his biggest trump card, which shows his confidence.

According to his thinking, the Jurchens conquered the territory of the Liao Dynasty, and that was the true homeland for you foreign tribes.

Now that nearly half of your land has been taken by Chen Shao, how can you continue to invade the Song Dynasty from the south?

After you see these four or five thousand elite cavalry, tens of thousands of infantry will follow. Liu Guangshi, the commander of the Fuyan army, firmly believes that with such a force, Wanyan Zongwang would not dare to confront him head-on; at most, he could only put up a resistance in Cizhou.

If they can launch another swift and decisive attack, then Wanyan Zongwang's troops will not dare to linger here any longer and will have no choice but to turn around and fight Chen Shao to the death!

As for whether to negotiate peace with the Jurchens or send them some tribute to let them fight it out with Chen Shao, that's a question for the high-ranking officials in the court to consider.

Looking at Liu Guangshi's approach to leading troops, it's almost identical to his father's. Liu Yanqing had the same idea when he marched into Baigou River.

They felt that the Khitans should have offered only token resistance and then gone off to fight the Jurchen Tartars like dogs. They argued that the Khitans were about to lose their capital, Yanjing, so why were they going to have a decisive battle with the Song Dynasty at the Baigou River?

Liu Guangshi has not learned a thing or two from his father's mistakes.

If any of the veterans who survived the Baigou River incident saw Young Master Liu's confident and smug expression, I wonder if they would remember Old Master Liu from those days at the Baigou River.

The Ming River was wide, and the two cavalry forces advanced almost side by side, but their ranks were clearly separated.

Wang Shigu's troops, which were rebuilt with great support from Xiao Zhong, comprised a Western Army cavalry group of approximately two thousand men.

These two thousand were all Han Chinese, and their personnel were of high quality and well-equipped.

The march had been arduous; the two thousand cavalrymen looked worn and tattered, and the officers and soldiers all wore faces weathered by the elements.

At first glance, they don't appear to be a very imposing military force.

When marching, the two thousand cavalrymen were orderly and solemn, responding to each other. Whenever they passed a mountain pass, the officers would promptly send out scouts.

Some even ventured more than ten miles out to observe, and they didn't just watch from horseback; they would dismount and climb mountains from time to time to survey the surrounding situation.

The other, larger group was led by Liu Anshi, a member of the Liu family. Apart from Liu Anshi, who was the commander of the cavalry, the rest of the group consisted entirely of barbarian cavalry.

The Western Army has a long tradition of using barbarian cavalry, but due to its geographical location, the Fuyan Road is not as convenient as the Xihe, Qinfeng and other armies in recruiting barbarian cavalry from Qingtang Hengshan and other tribes.

Therefore, their barbarian cavalry was relatively small in number, only comparable to the Han cavalry. Under Yao Gu, the barbarian cavalry made up a larger proportion of the force.

Perhaps it was because of their scarcity that they were so valuable, and because there were so few barbarian cavalrymen, Liu Guangshi offered them even more generous treatment, appointing his own younger brother to lead them as a key part of his personal army.

Those barbarian cavalry who were recruited into the Fuyan army received much higher pay than regular soldiers, and were also frequently rewarded.

Various military supplies and equipment were also selected and distributed, allowing them to choose first, before other soldiers and officers received their turn.

In terms of military discipline, Liu Guangshi was exceptionally lenient towards the barbarian cavalry, even justifying it by saying that he did not restrain their innate bravery and ferocity by applying Han Chinese rules.

When he led troops, he often came up with these seemingly reasonable but actually nonsensical and bizarre strategies and theories.

Historically, Liu Guangshi was later known as the foremost of the four generals who revived the Southern Song Dynasty, but the discipline of his troops was the worst, precisely because of his 'leniency'.

Finally, when Liu Guangshi was dismissed from his post and the court was about to reorganize and incorporate his army, more than 52,000 men defected from the Song Dynasty and surrendered to the Jurchens.

This barbarian cavalry and Wang Shigu's cavalry marched side by side on both sides of the river. The three thousand cavalrymen were densely packed together, with no room to turn around.

They did almost nothing in the way of scouting, providing cover, or making calls.

During the journey, many people chatted and laughed in Hu language.

Regardless of their ethnicity, most of the Hu people were fond of drinking. Many of their riders carried water gourds filled with wine, which they would drink continuously while on horseback, until their gourds were empty and they were quite drunk.

These foreign riders were indeed quite skilled. They turned themselves upside down, resting their heads on the saddle and propping their legs up on the saddlebags behind the saddle, and slept soundly, swaying back and forth but never falling off.

If this were in the Dingnan Army, especially the Yinzhou Legion, he would have been dragged down and beheaded long ago.

Because the Hu people had a tradition of herding horses and hunting, the barbarian cavalry had the advantage of growing up on horseback and being highly skilled in horsemanship.

However, it will take considerable effort to train them into an army, because most of them do not like to obey orders.

Throughout history, the truly powerful foreign armies have all been those with abnormally strict military discipline.

The same applies to the Jurchen Tartars today.

However, Liu Guangshi still treated his barbarian cavalry as a treasure, indulging and spoiling them.

After half a day of marching, we crossed the Ming River, and the mountain terrain in front of us became gentler.

More than ten miles away, the Jurchen military camp and banners could already be vaguely seen.

Liu Guangshi abandoned his horse and climbed straight to a high place to carefully observe the Jurchen army's formation, which looked quite impressive.

The Jurchen military camps were likely located in several villages in the valleys that were very close to each other, all along the main road.

These villages, without exception, were all ravaged by the Jurchen Tartars, and then used as military strongholds.

Mountain villages already had stockades to protect against wild animals and bandits, which the Jurchen army reinforced and thickened. They also built watchtowers and dug deep trenches to block roads, thus forming a defensive system.

They left some men there to confront the Zongze tribe on the mountain.

The main force continued south. Wanyan Zongwang did not intend to completely sweep through Hebei. He and Guo Yaoshi shared the same idea: to carve out a path to the indefensible capital province.

Having already expressed his ambitions several times, Liu Guangshi now stood on high ground and could finally see the legendary Jurchen army. He could see patrolling figures on the stockade walls; it was unclear whether they were auxiliary troops or Jurchen soldiers from the main force. Upon noticing the rising dust in the distance, they sounded their horns, which echoed mournfully through the valley.

Inside the military camp, the charred and dilapidated houses were clearly used as tents by the Jurchen Tartars.

Immediately, a large number of men poured out and rushed to the stockade, taking up their bows to defend it. Some even climbed the watchtowers, straining to see westward.

Liu Guangshi pointed at the military camp and laughed disdainfully, "I've already advanced this far, and they've only just discovered it. Everyone says the Jurchen Tartars are good at fighting, but in my opinion, they are barbarians who don't understand military strategy at all. They've only relied on their fierce and barbaric nature to crash into the heart of Hebei."

The adjutant Jin Sai beside him laughed and said, "They're unlucky to have run into our Fuyan Army and Young Master Liu!"

Several military camps opened their gates, and over a hundred cavalrymen poured out. Without raising any flags, they simply gathered together and headed west, as if they had only now hastily sent out scouts to gather intelligence on the approaching army.

In terms of sheer fortification, this defensive system is certainly not sturdy. To establish a stronghold in a strategic location, one must have extensive and deep terrain, along with a large troop presence, to sustain a stalemate with the attacker. Furthermore, without the advantage of terrain, the attacking side can employ a wide variety of offensive tactics.

These military camps were not very large; at a glance, they together numbered no more than a thousand men. Their defensive systems were weak and their forces limited, so they could hardly be considered fortified.

After several days of arduous marching, and cautiously scouting ahead, they finally encountered the Jurchen army. What they saw, however, was their utterly vulnerable state.

Veteran Wang Shigu felt no joy, but rather some worry.

If the Jurchen Eastern Route Army was only of this caliber, how could it have overthrown the vast Liao Kingdom?

How could they have so easily and decisively taken over Yanshan Prefecture in just one month?

This scheme to lure the enemy is far too obvious! Why hasn't Lord Liu sent any military orders yet?

The troops following behind at the foot of the mountain also heard the bugle call from ahead.

After all, they were battle-hardened soldiers. When they heard the Jurchen horns, they were already prepared. Some dismounted and formed an arrow formation in the road, while the cavalry retreated to the flanks to prepare to provide support at any time.

The formation suddenly tightened, and the various military officers took their positions, standing still, ready to face the possible great battle.

More scouts rushed forward to meet them. These seasoned veterans did not charge blindly, but controlled their speed, stopping to regroup every now and then before continuing their advance.

However, the barbarian cavalry was somewhat disorganized. This barbarian cavalry was a mixed group of tribes and had not undergone rigorous training. In the face of battle, they naturally stayed with their familiar tribesmen.

So they formed dozens of groups of varying sizes in the valley, and all sorts of shouts and commands rang out.

However, although these barbarian cavalrymen lacked discipline and were indeed somewhat reckless, no matter which group they were in, there were always strong and impetuous men who rushed out.

These barbarian cavalrymen charged forward without any flags, shouting and yelling, and in the blink of an eye they overtook the cautious scouts of the Wangshigu tribe!

At this moment, Wang Shigu, who was at the forefront, was considering how to break through the Jurchens' crude fortifications. He didn't care about the actions of the barbarian cavalry, since he couldn't control them anyway.

More than a hundred Jurchen scouts, who had also come from afar, were killed and driven back as soon as they met these barbarian cavalry from the Fuyan Road.

Liu Anshi, who commanded the barbarian cavalry, spat disdainfully and laughed, "Finally, we've run into the Jurchen Tartars. They were all that scary, but they're as flimsy as paper. They scattered like flies with the slightest bump!"

Wang Shigu cursed inwardly. How could the Jurchen Tartars be so weak? It was clearly a trap to lure the enemy. And were these soldiers even Jurchens?
Many of them had shaved heads and kept their hair long; weren't they obviously Khitans?
Although he felt contempt for Liu Anshi, Wang Shigu dared not say it aloud, as Liu Anshi was the younger brother of Liu Guangshi, the young master Liu.

Liu Anshi was now even more convinced that his brother's judgment was correct: the Jurchens had no intention of staying in Hebei any longer.

He shouted loudly, "Everyone, give it your all and take this military camp for my brother! The Jurchen Tartars have swept through half of the Khitan and the entire Yanshan Prefecture. They must have plundered a lot of wealth. If we win the battle, you can take all of it!"

The barbarian cavalry responded with thunderous applause, surging down from the mouth of the valley toward the Jurchen camp.

Liu Anshi was a bit stronger than his brother Liu Guangshi; at least he was truly skilled in martial arts and always took the lead.

The Fuyan cavalry, who had spontaneously formed dozens of squads of varying sizes, heard the command, saw the banners, and witnessed their commander's bravery. Shouting loudly, they charged forward, kicking up clouds of dust.

Liu Guangshi shouted "Bravo!" from the mountaintop. From his perspective, it looked like a massive army was surging forward, unstoppable!
With such a powerful army at my command, I am more than capable of dominating the world!
The hundred or so Jurchen cavalrymen retreated straight backward, looking utterly disheveled.

The Jurchen military camp dared not open its gates to allow the hundred or so riders to return, for behind them were countless Fuyan army cavalry.

These hundred or so cavalrymen then bypassed the military camp and retreated eastward.

Liu Anshi's cavalry charged straight in, but the road in front of them had already been cut off by the Jurchens who had dug trenches. So the cavalrymen left the road and circled around along the soft river valley, attacking the flank of the Jurchen army camp.

On the military camp, at the command of the Jurchen general, arrows rained down.

The barbarian cavalrymen drew their shields for protection and charged forward recklessly.

Along the way, warhorses kept collapsing to the ground with pitiful cries, but the bravery of these barbarian cavalrymen remained undiminished, and they continued to advance at high speed.

They don't value their own lives.

Once they were within twenty or thirty paces, the barbarian cavalry drew their bows and moved laterally in front of the camp, firing back and forth.

Meanwhile, more barbarian cavalrymen dismounted and stepped forward, preparing to use the cover of arrows to pull down the stockade and surge in!

Liu Anshi truly always charged ahead, leading the charge and taking the lead in the attack.

At this moment, he also jumped off his horse, took the iron spear from his personal guard and exchanged it for a riding shield and a long sword. Right there in the middle of the army, he led his personal guards to crash into the stockade!

Such an offensive was naturally hasty and careless, relying purely on momentary bravado to charge forward. If the defending troops had been even slightly more resolute, using the palisades as cover for repeated attacks, these several thousand barbarian cavalry would have been unable to break through even if they risked their lives.

The Jurchen Tartars' infantry and armor formations were unparalleled in the world.

However, after being subjected to several rounds of arrows from mounted archers, few of the Tatars were actually wounded. The Jurchen Tatar troops who were defending the stockade retreated one after another, giving up the stockade!

Liu Anshi took the lead and rushed forward, leading his personal guards to bravely scale the stockade. They quickly seized a section of land, with dozens of guards protecting him and holding the area firmly.

Meanwhile, the foreign cavalry used the same old method of attacking the stockade: they threw out long ropes to tie to wooden stakes, with one end attached to the horses. Dozens of strong horses were whipped and neighed, and in an instant, they dragged down a long section of the stockade without any disturbance!
A large contingent of Jurchen cavalry surged in, shouting and cheering, their morale soaring. Meanwhile, the Jurchen defenders of the camp mounted their horses, opened the other gate, and fled eastward!

The hundred or so Jurchen scouts who had previously circled around the military camp and fled eastward, and had paused for a moment, now turned around without hesitation and continued eastward, fleeing even faster than before!
Liu Guangshi was gesticulating wildly and shouting in the military camp, as if he were insane: "Take down all the other bird camps! Take them down for me!"

A large contingent of barbarian cavalry poured into the military camp, but no one listened to Liu Guangshi and continued to attack other camps.

Because they discovered hundreds of people, both men and women, in this military camp, as well as a large amount of wealth looted by the Jurchen Tartars in Hebei!
This small military camp had a considerable amount of grain stored up, and had sheep and horse pens where cattle and sheep were kept.

There were still dozens of warhorses abandoned in the stables, and in the dilapidated houses that had been used as residences for the Jurchen Tartars, there were gold and silver artifacts, in addition to women in disheveled clothes and male slaves who were responsible for doing the work.

There were even a lot of copper coins and paper money issued by the Song Dynasty, as well as all kinds of clothes and fabrics—all sorts of good things!

Wang Shigu's men also rushed in. When he saw what was in the village, he was immediately confused.

Isn't this a trap to lure the enemy? Are the Jurchen Tartars really that vulnerable?
Ignoring all this, countless barbarian riders dismounted and began running back and forth among the houses, arguing and fighting amongst themselves.

There are many instances where people have drawn their swords and threatened each other in order to seize a piece of gold, silver, or jade.

Those dozens of horses were also a key target of contention; for the barbarians, a good horse was more precious than anything else.

These dozens of horses are either strong grassland horses or top-quality Liaodong horses.

Once you manage to grab it, it's like having an extra life on the battlefield!

They really went to great lengths to operate on these dozens of strong horses!
Liu Anshi was jumping up and down in the stockade: "The Tartars have plenty of wealth, what's the point of looting here! Quickly come with me to open up the other military stockades!"

Under his shouts and running, the barbarian cavalry who had fallen behind in the looting rushed out again and attacked the other military camps.

Having witnessed the wealth of the Jurchen Tartars, they all became greedy and even more willing to risk their lives than before!

In the valley, the sounds of fighting and shouting gradually subsided, replaced by the cheers and shouts of the barbarian cavalry, which resounded throughout the surrounding area.

Liu Guangshi laughed heartily. Just as he had predicted, he was about to become famous throughout the world.

In this series of military camps, the barbarian cavalrymen who had made great contributions rushed back and forth in a chaotic manner, all of them grabbing their waist pouches full. Some people couldn't carry them all, so they simply draped and wrapped themselves in brocade and cloth.

After winning this battle, they no longer took the Jurchens seriously. They were thinking about how these small villages could store so many spoils of war, and what about the Tartars in Cizhou City?

Where is Wanyan Zongwang's main tent?

These barbarian cavalrymen didn't care about anything else; they just waited for their commander's order to continue the pursuit eastward. It was as if the previously ferocious Jurchen army had suddenly become a flock of fat sheep, waiting for them to slaughter them.

The stored grain in the village was also taken out, and the best grain was used to feed the mounts, spilling everywhere.

The livestock in the sheep and horse pen were driven out, cut into dozens of pieces, and then roasted over a fire, filling the village with a fragrant aroma.

What made the barbarian cavalry even happier was that there was wine in the village.

The barbarian cavalrymen fought and scrambled for the wine, shouting and yelling excitedly.

In a corner of the military camp, the rescued Han Chinese civilians gathered together, watching the distant barbarian cavalry with some fear as they drank. These people resembled the Jurchen Tartars; they were all foreigners.

The Hebei people who were abducted, both men and women, were emaciated and dressed in rags.

The majority of them were women. Many of them were dressed in tattered clothes, revealing their flesh, which aroused the eyes of the barbarian cavalrymen who had just finished a fight and had drunk some wine. They stared in that direction with a restless look.

This is not the former territory of the Liao Dynasty, not Yanjing, not Yunzhong; this is Hebei.

Therefore, these new people were not only Han Chinese, but also Song Chinese!

With the first scream, these military camps instantly transformed into a living hell.

At this time, Liu Guangshi held a banquet in the army, where he enjoyed a grand feast.

He certainly didn't care about those goods and people; even if there were women, they were just village women and girls abducted by the Tartars.

Young Master Liu has always been extremely picky about women.

Just as everyone was getting into a drunken frenzy, Wang Shigu lifted the curtain, his face ashen.

Considering how embarrassing this matter was, he didn't want to talk about it in public, so he walked over to Liu Guangshi and whispered something in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangshi remained calm and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It was all agreed beforehand, how can we go back on our word? These barbarian cavalry are brave and fierce. If we don't give them some incentive, how can they continue to risk their lives for me?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shigu was struck dumb, forgetting all about losing face. He clasped his hands and said, "These are all people of our Great Song Dynasty!"

"After decades of fighting, how can you still be so soft-hearted? These people serve the Jurchen Tartars, which can be considered treason and collusion with foreign powers, but it's not a big deal!"

Wang Shigu's face turned red, but he knew he couldn't persuade them now, so he could only say, "The Jurchens have set up several military camps here, and the defenses are weak. They've also left behind so much wealth and prisoners. I think it's a trap to lure the enemy. We have to be careful!"

These words struck a nerve with Liu Guangshi, whose face instantly darkened. "What utter nonsense! Just because we won a battle doesn't mean we were luring the enemy into a trap, so we're supposed to lose?"

"I think you've been scared out of your wits by the Jurchen Tartars. Don't go to the siege tomorrow. Watch how I take Wu'an!" (End of Chapter)